Breaking
by Illeana Starbright
Summary: Major AU. The 75th Annual Hunger Games. The Quarter Quell. Cato knows he's going to win the instant his name is called. Summer knows that she's going to die. Fate knows otherwise and maybe so does everyone else.
1. Chapter One

**Chapter One**

_Summer_

It's supposed to be a honor, representing your district in the Hunger Games. That's what they tell us, lying to our faces again and again, but perhaps the only ones who believe it are the airheads from District 1 and the bloodthirsty monsters they seem to breed in District 2. The way I see it being drawn is a curse, even here in District 4 where we're considered a Career district, but I shouldn't say that too loudly. I shouldn't be saying it in the first place. After all we _are_ part of the Careers and our tributes win more often than every other district with the obvious exceptions of Districts 1 and 2.

People around here act like our win record is a good thing. They ignore they blatant truth staring them straight in the eyes because it's safer to pretend. They ignore what I see on a regular basis. Yes we have victors here in District 4 but they are irrevocably broken. Annie Cresta lost her sanity when her district partner died. Mags' speech is slurred from a stroke brought on from the stress of the games. Chella Reed refused to marry the one boy she had ever loved because she was afraid of having a family taken away from her by the Capitol. My sister, Rosalyn, committed suicide because the games haunted her. Finnick Odair seems to be the only when that has come out in one piece but when I catch him watching Annie with sad blue eyes I know something inside him has been broken too. That's why when my name is drawn for the 75th Annual Hunger Games and the 3rd ever Quarter Quell I consider it a death sentence.

I walk solemnly up to the platform and survey the crowd with dead eyes. I'm not coming back. I know that even before the bubbly escort calls my district partner up. I'm fifteen and strong but small for my age. I'm a fast runner but not a fighter, at least not the kind that tends to come out of the games alive instead of in a body bag. I tend to give dark glares and stay away from people rather than beating them to death for their indiscretions. My district partner is a lanky seventeen year old. I've seen him pulling in nets with the others just before sunset. He's of average strength but a follower, not a leader. We won't last long.

It's popular knowledge around here that the Careers only keep us from District 4 alive as extra help during the bloodbath. Then when the alliance begins to shatter our tributes are the first to be slaughtered. I don't intend to go quietly, like a lamb to the slaughter. I don't intend to join the Careers. It won't please my mentors but I am Summer Hayes and I'll do as I please. After all I'm dead already.

_Cato_

The Hunger Games are a joke. Even the Quarter Quell. We from Districts 1 and 2 have a deal of sorts made up almost since the games began. District 1 claims victory one year and District 2 the next. Occasionally a tribute from another, inferior, district wins but the schedule remains unchanged. Last year a District 1 boy named Marvel won. This year is my turn. Even with that pathetic rule change to make the Quarter Quell more 'exciting' (Two tributes can win the games provided that they are allies from the feast to the end) won't change anything. I will be the sole victor.

Beside me in our gaudy rooms at the Capitol, nothing like the militaristic appearance of District 2 homes, Antonia tosses her hair and gazes at the television with the same single minded devotion she gaze her reflection when she gazed in the mirror the entire ride here. She was young and vain, not as interested in training as she was her looks. It would be her downfall. They are replaying the Reapings but Antonia is only interested in seeing herself and Cornelia, the equally vain girl from District 1, on public television again. I am gauging the competition and waiting for the other tributes to arrive at the Capitol for the Tribute Parade.

The pair from 1, Regulus and the aforementioned Cornelia, take the stage in the glitz and glam typical of the spoiled brats from their district. During our Reaping Antonia is wearing almost enough glitter to put the pair to shame. She doesn't look intimidating. Instead she is a child trying to show off her new dress. The pair from 3 are young, weepy, and nervous. They will make easy targets. The girl from 4 has a wild mane of golden curls and icy eyes. She glares out into the crowd and refuses to shake her partner's hand. The girl from 5 has a twisted leg and the boy is only twelve. The pair from 6 are so skinny you can see their ribs through their clothing and no one seems to know who they are until they take the stage. The pair from 7 look lost and terrified. The girl from 8 flat out cries. The boy from 9 has to be dragged on stage. The two from 10 are twins. The boy from 11 is well bit but missing an arm and the girl limps. The pair from 12 are scrawny, underfed weaklings, as usual. The cycle begins again.

I turn to look out the window at the glamor of the Capitol. It really doesn't matter to me who is Reaped. We from District 2 will ally with Districts 1 and 4. There will be several bloody weeks of fighting and then in the end I will triumph, even if it means killing Antonia who, in truth, is my cousin. Finally our escort buzzes in, announcing that the last tributes have finally arrived so our stylists will consent to seeing us. I ignore mine as she and my prep team dress me in some sort of bronze armor. The historical significance is lost on me and for a moment I can almost hear fifteen year old Clove snapping, "Do you want to be an idiot for the rest of your life?" Then again Clove has always excelled in knowledge about historical battles, weapons, and armor.

My stylist prattles on and on about the history behind the armor and how it pertains to District 2 but I tune her out and after a half an hour her talk peters out as she realizes I'm not listening. Finally she finishes and our escort leads Antonia and I do to where the chariots wait. The pair from 1 are dressed entirely in gemstones that reflect the light that falls on them. The pair from 4 are dressed in various shades of blue that almost make them look like the waves I saw washing up against the beach behind the stage during their Reaping.

The parade is no more exciting for me to be in than it has ever been for me to watch. Similarly President Snow's speak is no more inspiring than it ever has been. Once our chariots have stopped back in the stables I make my way over to the pair from District 4 and lean against their chariot. After a moment the boy nervously greats me. "Hey." His voice is shaky, like he isn't sure if he can address me or not. His district partner is, for the most part, ignoring him and me as she slips off her dark blue gloves. She seems to be about Clove's current age; fifteen.

"I want to lay down some basic rules for our alliance," I tell him arrogantly, knowing he will go along with anything I tell him. "First we stick together, even in training. That's why we're called a _Career pack. _Second, no other alliances. If I find you making one with someone else you'll be the first to die in the bloodbath. Third, you hold the alliance until _I say_ it's over." I pause for a moment to narrow my eyes at him. "Any questions?"

"N-none," he stammers out, looking terrified even though he's a good three or four inches taller than me.

"What about you, Water Girl?" I ask his partner.

"You can take your alliance and choke on it for all I care," she snaps at me but she doesn't once look up at me and her body language says she's uneasy. Despite her obvious nervousness her tone is venomous. For a moment I wonder what her mentor thinks of her refusal to join up with us before I shake off the thought. She's just being stubborn. She'll come around when she sees our training scores.

"You'll change your mind," I say and saunter off before I am tempted to choke this girl who has already decided to test my authority.


	2. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two**

_Cato_

The competition for this year's games would never be ranked at anything above pathetic. If this had been District 2 and not the Hunger Games these children would have been laughed out of the academy in fifteen minutes flat. Most have never handled a weapon before and none of them are good enough for their practice to matter. We have been pulled out of our regular routine the third day to practice hand to hand combat against each other. The girl from 4, the one who had attempted to shrug me off after the parade, was facing off against Regulus.

The boy from 1 was more muscled than he had looked during the Reaping. At first I had thought it had simply been a bad camera angle but then I caught the tell tale signs of steroid use. There had been several boys that dabbled with steroids in the academy, trying to build up the strength to face me, so I knew the signs well. He was increasingly short tempered, always ready to snap, and his face was breaking out with acne his stylist fought to hide. There was no doubt in my mind that he was on steroids.

The drugs had made him strong but they had also given him no time to adjust to his new found strength. This had made him clumsy and accident prone. The girl from 4, in contrast, was slight and her strength was natural. She was well aware of her limitations and her speed and size allowed her to dart around Regulus. The boy from 1 grew increasingly frustrated as the match dragged on and he had yet to lay a hand on his opponent. She is slowing though, tiring as her natural strength wears off while Regulus' unnatural strength remains barely touched. He takes her down and she twists, trying to break free. Her eyes are panicked as she thrashes, struggling to throw Regulus off her, but it looks as if he has her pinned down for good.

_Summer_

I struggle under the boy from 1, fighting to throw him off. Pure panic washes over me in waves. During training I have managed to make myself deadly with a knife or spear but if the boy from 1 keeps me down now the game is up. The Careers will have found a weakness and they will use it to their advantage. I have already marked myself as a target by refusing to join them. I cannot also be shown as weak. That's what I resort to something that would be considered cheating if I were sparring at home.

I forced my torso upright and jam my elbow straight into his crotch, shifting at the same time to throw him off. He doesn't resist and I jam my foot into his stomach as a parting shot before gaining some space. As it turns out gaining space is unnecessary. The boy from 1 is doubled up on the ground, still reeling from my hits. There's a strange rushing sound in my ears and I can't hear anything but that as I back up a couple steps to get a good running start. Then I run and launch myself onto his back, landing hard with my knees against his spine.

His breath escaped him as he gasped like a landed fish. The trainer had to yell halt twice before I could even hear what he was saying. I stood and backed away, hearing the girl from 1 screaming about me cheating. Beside her the girl from 2 looks bored and annoyed as the healers rush over to the boy from 1. I avoid the glance of the boy from 2. He terrifies me and I'm pretty sure he knows that but I don't want him to be able to look in my eyes and know for sure.

Instead I turn and rush out of the room. No one stops me. They're too busy staring at my retreating back or at the boy from 1 who is still gasping on the floor. I make it out with my head held high and my hands clenched in trembling fists before I burst into tears. It's Aron, my district partner, who finds me an hour later and ushers me up to our rooms out of the prying public eye. I should thank him but I don't have to energy to do anything but sink down on my bed and drift off to sleep.

_Cato_

"So go over the alliance for me," Enobaria snaps at us as we wait for the scores to come up. "Tell me names, districts, strengths, and weaknesses."

"Do we have to?" Antonia whines, sounding suspiciously like Cornelia. Her tone makes my lip curl and Enobaria's face darkens.

"Yes," Brutus growled, glaring at her over his drink. She sighed and pouted but acquiesced.

"The pair from 1 are Regulus and Cornelia," she drawls boredly, still somehow pouting. "Cornelia uses short blades. They're not quite long enough to be swords but not short enough to be knives either. She's prone to screaming and swearing when things don't go her way. Regulus is strong but a total klutz."

"Huh," I say. "So you were paying attention." Antonia glares at me and I smirk back until she looks away. "Regulus is on steroids."

"How would you know?" Antonia snaps at me while Brutus' eyebrows raise up into his hair.

"I've seen plenty of boys taking them in vain attempts to beat me," I drawl, my smirk firmly in place as I resist to get up and strangle her. "I know the signs and he shows all of them. The steroids will make him easy to take advantage of." Brutus nodded in approval at me and then turned back to Antonia.

"The boy from 4," Antonia sighed, continuing with her list. Her brow furrowed as she attempted and failed to remember his name. "What's his name again?"

"Aron," I reply, doing nothing to hide my irritation at her incompetence. She winces slightly but remains focused.

"Right," she says briskly. "Aron. He's useless and his district partner isn't joining us."

"WHAT?" Enobaria bellowed and Brutus choked on his drink.

"And you didn't think to tell us," Brutus snarled.

"I didn't think it was important," Antonia said petulantly and Brutus' face turned a brilliant red color.

"I decided I'd worry if she didn't come around after seeing the training scores," I drawled lazily. "If not then I'll take care of her. "

"You," Enobaria spat at Antonia, grabbing her arm. "Are coming with me and we are going to have a very long talk about what is important and what isn't."

"But Cato didn't see anything either," Antonia squealed.

"But he had a plan," Enobaria growled, dragging Antonia out of the room.

"So tell me about the girl from 4," Brutus drawled a moment after Antonia and Enobaria were gone.

I took a moment to gather together everything that I had observed around her before speaking. "I don't know her name and I haven't really cared to find out yet. She's fifteen and small for her age but strong and smart. She saw Regulus' weakness and took advantage of it to beat him during sparring. She's good at hand to hand combat and she's the fastest out of the tributes which is probably going to come into play during the bloodbath. Even without the Career pack she can probably pull sponsors if she gets a good enough training score. She's prettier than the rest of the girls here and that will catch the sponsors attention. As long as she doesn't wreck her training score or ruin the interview she could be a real contender."

Brutus nodded and took another sip of his drink before saying, "It must be almost time for the scores to be announced." He flipped on the television just in time for a picture of the girl from 4 to come up.

Cladius Templesmith's voice began to narrate. "Four years ago we say seventeen year old Rosalyn Hayes take the Hunger Games by storm. Beautiful and charismatic she took everyone's hearts including those of the boys in the Career pack. She seemed too good to be true and that she was. It was eventually proved that Rosalyn Hayes had a ruthless streak. She kept the Career pack together with her charisma until there were only two tributes left outside the pack. Then while the other Careers slept she slit their throats and set traps for the two left while her teammates died. Two days later she was out of the games and possibly one of the most beloved victors of the games. Then tragedy struck. Two months after her brilliant victory Miss Rosalyn Hayes hung herself and was discovered dead after being missing for twenty-four hours. Now we have her younger sister, Summer Hayes, standing for District 4 in the Quarter Quell. The Capitol cannot help but wonder if they will have another beautiful winner, even for the same short amount of time that Rosalyn Hayes stood."

I sat, frozen, and stared at the television. "Well," Brutus said after a moment, sounding as stunned as I felt. "She'll have all the sponsors she needs after that." That was when the fury sank in and I smacked his glass of alcohol across the room to shatter against the wall. I flipped the table and shattered the nearest vase by throwing it at Antonia's head when she cautiously glanced out of the room she and Enobaria were in. She squeaked and ducked back into the room. That was when Brutus decided he had taken enough and stood, pinning me to the wall.

I glared at him, my breath coming out in ragged gasps and my teeth bared. How dare that stupid little girl from 4 steal sponsors from us this way? How dare she show me up and scorn my offered alliance? "Calm down," Brutus hissed at me. "You'll get your chance to make her suffer in the games but until then you can't do anything." I knew he was right but I didn't have to like it. I shrugged him off then and stormed out of the room, heading for the roof to calm down before I wrecked something else or before Antonia annoyed me and I killed her.


	3. Chapter Three

**Chapter Three**

_Summer  
_I tug on my interview dress in a vain attempt to make it cover more skin than it did. It was a gorgeous number; teal and strapless with a gold belt around the waist and it ended in gentle waves just above my knees. I hated it. It showed far too much of my cleavage for me to be comfortable in it. Chella Reed, grabbed my hand to keep me from tugging on it again and sighed when I glared at her. "You look fine honey. Now stop tugging on the dress before you end up ripping it and showing more skin than you already are."

"What does it matter?" I snapped at her. "I already look like a slut." Of course Aron and Finnick had to arrive at that moment and they roared with laughter. "Stop laughing at me," I growled at them and when they didn't I stalked by them, making sure to stomp on Aron's foot hard with my heels. He winced but was still laughing as I stormed down the hallway. The pair from 3 took one look at my dark glare and flinched away. Ordinarily I would have felt bad for terrifying them but I was still too angry to think straight. I looked ridiculous.

I turned a stormed down the hallway with Aron limping behind me. We stood together in frosty silence, me ignoring the suggestive winks from the boy from 1. We were led on stage to sit in our assigned seats by a perky woman with green hair. These Capitol fashions were completely ridiculous. Who thought green hair was pretty anyway? I sat carefully in my seat, crossing my legs and hoping the leering Capitol boys in the front row couldn't see up my skirt. The last thing I needed was for the Capitol to put me out as a high class whore.

The girl from 1, Cornelia, flounced on stage first as I pulled in a calming breath. Her dress was even shorter than mine but she didn't seem to care. I closed my eyes, blocking everything out and pushing away the part of me that was angry and resentful. I wouldn't get any sponsors by being mean and snippy. I needed to be sweet and charming. I needed to blow every other girl in the Hunger Games out of the water? I was finally calm when I heard Caesar Flickman announce, "Citizens of Panem please welcome the beautiful Summer Hayes."

_Cato_

She had been fuming the entire time in her seat, whether over her dress or the situation or something someone had said to her no doubt. She had calmed herself better than he had expected and when Caesar called her name and she stepped on to the stage she changed. The sullen, angry, desperate girl was gone. The Summer in her place was radiant. She smiled and laughed and joked, flirting with the audience and practically glowing with life. The crowd loved her.

Compared to Summer Cornelia was a pretty yet obviously poisonous flower, dripping with rot and disease. Antonia was nothing more than a sullen, sour smile. Summer Hayes was suddenly the only female competition left in the Hunger Games. I turn to Brutus who is watching Summer flirt and beam with something close to being impressed. "She knows how to play the game," he said when he saw me watching him. "I'll give her that. But she has to have some weakness. Everyone does."

"Oh she does," I said as she accidentally meant my eyes as she came backstage. I smirk and she flinches back, quickly turning away.

"Interesting," Brutus drawled and I grinned widely at him. "So she's scared of you."

"Understatement," I said, grin refusing to vanish.

"Good," came the response. "Use that to your advantage. Break her before she's dead so that she's not the Capitol's little darling anymore."

"With pleasure," I shot back as I tracked tiny Summer Hayes through the room. She doesn't look happy; she looks like a rabbit in a room full of lions, eyes flicking back and forth as if looking for an escape. The impression wasn't altogether incorrect either. The Careers were indeed lions and Summer was a rabbit but the others were starving mice. I watched Summer filter through the room, knowing that if I really wanted to intimidate him I'd have to wait and find a time where there would be no help coming.


	4. Chapter Four

**Chapter Four**

_Summer_

I paced. Even thought I knew everything would be fine I couldn't shake the persistent thought that something was going to go horribly wrong during tomorrow's bloodbath. Evening hours drifted into night and still I couldn't shake my dread so I could sleep. Finally I gave up and stumbled downstairs to the training room. The door opened with the general code Finnick gave me when I mumbled something about needed to practice. The training room was dark and silent. security lights helped light the room some but most of it was consumed in shadow. I hesitated a moment before making my way to the center of the floor, breathing in and then out. My eyes drifted shut and I searched for the calm I had been looking for.

I moved from motion to motion, chasing permanently elusive calm. I was just beginning to calm when the door opened again. I backed into the shadows again, heart thumping rapidly as if trying to escape my chest. My vision constricted with panic for a moment and I wanted to bolt. I doubted that whoever was in here during this hour of the night was around the clean the floors. I take a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to relax. I can't get out of here and away from whoever is intent on cornering me if I panic. I'm almost calm when I'm tackled from the side.

_Cato_

I slam into her before she realizes where I am. I had guessed she would be down here and my guess was turning out correct. We hit the ground and I pin her down before she can squirm away. Her eyes are wide and staring up at me as she gasps for breath. "Hello 4," I say with a smirk. She growls at me trying to twist free, but her arms are pinned beneath her and her eyes are frightened. "Ready for tomorrow?"

"Ready to kill you," she said in a breathless whisper, trying to throw me off again.

"You think you can?" I challenged, pushing down on her shoulders. She flinched slightly, breathing coming out in sharp pants.

"Yes?" she said, trying to sound sure. It came out as a question instead. Her eyes told the truth. She didn't think she could manage it.

"Right," I drawled and she flinched. "You'd better hope the arena's large rabbit," I continued with mocking seriousness. "Otherwise there won't be enough space between you and I to keep you alive." Then I leaned down so my face was inches from hers and watched her try to cringe away. "You better run fast," I whispered and then kissed her lightly on the forehead like I would a little sister. She flinched as I released her, standing fluidly and walking out of the training room. Tomorrow was the first day of the games. Tomorrow I would start breaking little Summer Hayes. Let's see how much the Capitol citizens like her when she's trembling and begging for her life.

_Summer_

I sleep restlessly and I know I look exhausted when one of the assistants injects me with a tracker. All I can hear is Cato telling me that I'd better run fast. I shiver as I step off the hovercraft and walk between two Peacekeepers below the arena. I dress in silence and step on to the platform when it's time. _60. 59. 58. 57. 56. 55. 54._ The platform begins to rise slowly, lifting me up into the arena. _53. 52. 51. 50. 49. 48. 47. 46. 45. 44. 43._ I am standing now on the disk in the expanse of the arena, my eyes struggling to adapt to the sudden sunlight.

_42. 41. 40. 39. 38._ The arena is surrounded by mountains of razor sharp jagged black rocks. They wall everything in and are high enough to limit how much sunlight comes in during the day. Even though it has to be close to noon the lack of sunlight has kept it chilly. _37. 36. 35. 34. 33. 32. 31. _Slowly the rocks taper out into the edge of the valley which is covered in some kind of golden grain that is a Capitol modified version of winter wheat made to survive frosts and cold temperatures every night and still grow. That means the arena is going to stay cold.

_30. 29. 28. _Eventually the wheat fades off to a circle of grass that the Cornucopia sits in. Small spring filled ponds are gathered here in there, possibly the only water in the arena. _27. 26. 25. 24. _The winter wheat will give away anyone running in it but there isn't any cover on the rocks. Our disks are gathered on the sloping edges of jagged rocky mountains with the winter wheat between us and the Cornucopia. Some won't chance the Cornucopia. I will because I need one of those backpacks. There will be vital supplies inside them. _23. 22. 21. 20. 19. 18. 17._

I searched for Cato in the gathered group. The girl from 6 across from me looks sick and wobbly. Her partner is casting her concerned glances from a few pedestals down. _16. 15. 14. 13._ She wobbles suddenly, loosing her balance. Every eye is suddenly fixed on her and she looses her balance with a panicked cry and falls. The massive explosions rains down bloody chunks of the girl from 6 down on those around her. The girl from 7 lets out a wail and stumbles off her own platform trying to scrub the blood from her eyes. The rest of us stand frozen in horror.

_12. 11. 10. _In that moment my eyes find Cato's. He smirks at me and mouths something. _Run rabbit._ I swallow hard and look past him. _9. 8._ Some people are sobbing quietly, others are staring at the remains of the two girls with horror, and the Careers are smirking. _7. 6. 5._ My heartbeat sounds terribly loud in my ears. I think everyone in the Capitol can hear how afraid I am, especially when I make the mistake of glancing at the smirking Cato again. _4. 3. 2._ I pull in a deep breath and ready myself to run. _1._


	5. Chapter Five

Author's Note: This is probably the most brutal bloodbath I've ever written. A big thanks goes to _countryjesusfreak_ for taking the time to review the last chapter! I own nothing of the Hunger Games you recognize

* * *

**Chapter Five**

_Cato_

Two tributes were already dead and most the others were still frozen in shock. Summer was a different story. The instant the gong sounding she was racing toward the Cornucopia. She got there first, beating Antonia and Cornelia who were lighter and faster in the initial sprint than Aron, Regulus, and I. Antonia scrambled after Summer and as a reward her throat was sliced open. Summer flinched slightly at the blood coating her hands but she didn't drop the knife. She snatched a backpack and threw it over her shoulder as others started to arrive and the cannon for Antionia's death boomed. Regulus had snatched a short sword and he made short work of the boy from 8. Another cannon boomed and Summer flinched. So did Cornelia. Summer noticed and headed straight for the other girl.

Cornelia lunged at the smaller girl and managed to topple her to the ground. They crashed into a spring and rolled off into the muddy ground around it. Their blond hair was turning black and brown with mud when Summer jammed the knife upward between Cornelia's ribs. The girl from 1 gasped like a landed fish and Summer tossed her off, now fully coated with blood and mud. I had grabbed my sword now and a couple knives. One knife that I threw hit the boy from 6. The other killed the girl from 5. I saw Regulus cut down the boy from 10 and Aron was taking down the girl from 11.

Summer saw me coming and scrambled to her feet, backing away and slamming into the boy from 7 who was trying to escape from the boy from 11 with one arm. The both tumble down in a pile of frantic limbs. The boy from 11 notices me coming and backs off quickly. The boy from 9 bumps into him and goes down with a spear in his gut, dead soon. Both Summer and the boy from 7 come up, Summer quickly putting him between her and me. I behead the boy from 7 before he can bolt.

The girl from 3 attacks Summer back accident and the other girl takes her down almost without thinking. I take down the boy from 3 easily. Summer knows I'm tracking her and she's looking around for an escape. Regulus takes down the girl from 8. Aron has backed out of the fighting and is watching the supplies. He's too much of a follower to have the drive to kill. Summer takes advantage of my momentary distraction as the boy from 12 slams into me by accident. I whirl and kill him with a smooth stroke. By the time I turn again Summer is gone and the other tributes have fled from the Cornucopia.

_Summer_

I run like the devil himself is chasing me. That statement is more accurate than anyone could imagine. The boy from 2, Cato, really is a blond devil, one set on killing me. I make my way along the rocky ravine, hoping to find a place to hide or water. I am coated in blood and mud from the fights at the Cornucopia but I have a knife and a backpack. The sun dips low in the horizon and I shiver as the air cools drastically. It's growing dark quickly and I'm stumbling over rocks as I walk. Finally I sink down on the ground and rifle through my backpack to see what's inside before it grows too dark.

I unpack everything one by one. Two empty water canteens and a small bag of water purifying tablets. An extra shirt. A heavy sweatshirt and a waterproof jacket. A bag of dried fruit and some meat jerky. That was it. I changed shirts and shivered as the cold air hit my bare skin for a moment. My old shirts was disgusting and stinking. If there were any wild predators in the arena the scent of blood would draw them in like a magnet. I left the shirt and repacked my bag after pulling on the jacket. I continued walking.

I walked until it was dark and I was in danger of falling and breaking my head open on a rock. Then I sank down, pulling off my coat only to slip on the sweatshirt. Then I yanked the coat back on and curled up against still sun-warmed rock, shivering. That was when the anthem played and pictures began to form in the sky.

First is the blond girl from 1 that I killed. Then the girl from 2, also my kill. The pair from 3, one my kill and one Cato's. They skipped to the boy from 5 then, meaning Aron was still alive. Both from 6 and 7 were dead. Both from 8 were gone as well. The boys from 9 and 10 had been killed. Then the girl from 11 and finally the boy from 12. Fifteen dead in the first day. Only nine of us left. I shivered and closed my eyes, trying to forget the faces of those I'd killed or seen killed. I succeeded. Instead I watched Cato torture and kill me every time I drifted off to sleep.


	6. Chapter Six

**Chapter Six**

_Summer_

I woke up while it was still dark. The sun had yet to rise above the rocky cliffs and probably wouldn't until an hour or so before noon so it was hard to tell what time it was. My body said early morning. My brain said night. Logically I knew there was nothing I could do until I could see but I was restless. It was a fight to stay put until the sky lightened enough I could kind of see. I pulled off my sweatshirt and was just packing it back in my bag, still wearing my jacket, when a cannon boomed and I jumped. Someone else had been killed. Was it the Careers? Were they near me? Nothing. Not a sound. Either the Careers were quieter than I thought or they weren't near here.

Despite the fact that I seemed to be alone I made my way carefully down toward the deepest part of the valley where tall winter wheat hid jagged clumps of rock. I need water badly and it seems the only water is at the Cornucopia. I pause at the edge of the dense circle of winter wheat wondering if I dare go into it in attempt to reach the Cornucopia and water. I stay still and frozen, listening. "-traitorous bastard left us," someone snarled. The boy from 1. But who does he mean left them? Surely not Aron. He's too much of a natural born follower to take the initiative and abandon the Careers. Did Cato leave alone to hunt? That thought sends chills up my spine. "That cannon was for his kill too. I'm sure of it," the boy from 1 continues.

"He'll pay," another voice sneers and I feel fear all the way down in my bones. _Cato_. He's not more than a few feet away judging by how easily I can hear him. For a moment I am too shocked by his proximity to think clearly. Then I reply what the boy from 1 said. Aron abandoned the Careers, probably bolted just before it got light so they couldn't track him. I am partially stunned by his sudden growth of a backbone and slightly proud to be his district partner. _Huh. I guess District 4 isn't so pathetic after all, is it Cato?_ I sneer mentally but I don't dare make a sound. "When we find him, he's my kill," Cato adds, his voice fading some as he heads away. I hear the sounds of someone settling down and risk a soft sigh of frustration. The remaining Careers, Cato and the boy from 1, won't leave until they can see.

I back away slowly and my foot steps on a rock, cracking it slightly. I freeze and hear the boy from 1 say, "What was that?"

"Just a falling rock," Cato says dismissively. "They've been doing that all night."

"I'm going to check it out," the boy from 1 says.

"Suit yourself," Cato drawls and I hear footsteps coming my way as I stay in a crouch, continuing to back away. When I finally get to a more even stretch of land I bolt. That's when the boy from 1 breaks free of the wheat and sees me. He tackles me from behind and I slam into another patch of wheat, flattening it.

"HEY CATO," he yells. "GUESS WHO I FOUND?" I growl and squirm, attempting to flip myself over. The boy from 1 leans down to whisper in my ear. "I'd kill you but Cato's already called you." I slam back head back into his. He yelps and rocks back, allowing me to toss him off and stab him in the chest. I leave the knife and run even as the cannon booms.

_Cato_

I hear Regulus yell and stand up slowly, wondering what's got him so excited. I doubt it's either from District 4. Both are two clever to come by here unless they have to, especially since I now want both of them dead. I hear him yelp then and realize something's wrong. I break out into a jog as the cannon booms and then slow back to a walk. Either Regulus or his victim is now dead. I step out of the winter wheat and look at the dead body of the last of my alliance with a knife in his chest. The same knife that killed Cornelia and Antonia. The same knife that a certain terrified girl from 4 has been wielding. Summer's been here.


	7. Chapter Seven

**Chapter Seven**

_Summer_

I watch from behind a clump of rocks as he checks over the boy from 1's body and then pulls out the knife. I left the knife. I feel sick to my stomach. That little slip could be enough to sign my death warrant. I've known since the altercation in the training room before we were thrown into the arena Cato had it out for me. Know he knows I've killed all the other Careers besides him and Aron. That means he's going to start tracking me down. I'm not wrong either. I watch him slip the knife into his belt and glance down at the rocky ground. No footprints. That's one of the great things about how dry this arena is. There's no way for him to track me. He'll have to guess. He realizes this and growls under his breath, gripping his sword so tightly his knuckles turn white. Then he whirls and stalks back to the Cornucopia, either to guard it or gather supplies before leaving. I don't wait around to find out.

I make my way around the winter wheat making a half circle around the left of the Cornucopia toward a set of mountain like rocks that might or might not hold caves. If I could find a cave maybe I could hide from Cato, at least for a while. Instead I found Aron. My district partner was sitting warily at the edge of a rocky overhang. I was just out of his sight line but I could see the eternal blackness of the cave behind him. I backed slowly away and turned back toward the Cornucopia. My mouth was drier than the sand at home beyond the tide line and I knew if I didn't get water soon I would die of dehydration. I was already dizzy and stumbling slightly, fighting the urge to pass out. The relief at seeing the Cornucopia abandoned was sharp.

I stumbled into the open space and gulped down water until my thirst was sated. Then I fill the two canteens and place a purifying tablet in each. I look up and see the girl from 5 gulping down water as well. I manage a wan smile and she gives me one back. We both know if Cato catches us we're dead and neither of us feels inclined to kill each other. Instead we pretend not to see each other and jump when the cannon booms.

_Cato_

The girl from 10 doesn't even beg. She just sobs brokenly until I slice her head off. Her twin was killed by Regulus in the bloodbath and it destroyed her. The cannon booms and I glance up at the sun. It is already beginning to sink down below the tips of the cliffs. Sunlight will not last much longer. I decide to double back toward the Cornucopia. I haven't found Summer yet and I don't know the territory around her as well as the Cornucopia. I burned all the supplies I didn't take but the tributes will have to come out to get water soon enough. The sun is just sinking when I run into the girl from 5.

She screams, a high pitched terrified sound, and backs up. I slice deep into her leg and she screams again, stumbling to the ground. I smirk and stab through her other leg before dropping my sword and pulling out Summer's knife. I slice her up until she's bled so much she can only let out pained whimpers. Then I behead her. Just before I do I hear a little gasp and I smirk. The rabbit has turned up at the feeding frenzy and just given her away. As the cannon booms she bolts and I take off after. Summer Hayes isn't getting away from me this time.

_Summer_

I run as if my life depends on it, which it does. In the growing dark I stumble and can't help but cry out as a sharp rock slices deep across my ankle. I scramble to my feet and bolt again, ignoring the agony from my leg. Cato isn't going to catch me. I'm not going to die. As it turns out luck is on my side. He's forced to stop chasing me in the sudden darkness. The gamemakers provided neither torch nor nightvision goggles for anyone. No one can see in the dark. I slump in the shadows as the picture of the girl from 5, followed by the girl from 10, appear in the sky. Nineteen tributes are dead. Only five of us left and the Quarter Quell is only two days in. I drift off to sleep, hoping I don't dream.

I wake at sunrise when the girl from 9 trips over my. We both yelp and then she attacks me. I try to stand and shove her off but my leg is inflamed and doesn't take me weight. I crumble with a startled cry just as a dark shadow looms over the girl from 9. Cato wraps his arms around her neck and snaps it just as I force myself to my feet and bolt.

I make it into the shadows of the cliffs before I feel like I can stop. My leg is blazing red and swollen and throbbed like it had its own heartbeat. I pressed against it and a little yellowish pus dripped out of it as I moaned in pain. It was definitely infected though I didn't think cuts normally got that infected overnight. There must have been some kind of bacteria on the rock that caused this. I ripped up my sweatshirt and used it as bandages. That was when I heard him. I tried to bolt but I wasn't fast enough. Cato caught me from behind and I squirmed, kicking back hard before he got his arms locked around me throat. I was going to die. Just like the girl from 9.


	8. Chapter Eight

**Chapter Eight**

_Cato_

I can feel her heartbeat pounding as she trembles against me, waiting for me to kill her. I'm going to kill her but I decide to have some fun with her too. "Did the poor little rabbit run the wrong direction?" I tighten my grip around her throat and she gasps, writhing desperately. "I could just snap your neck now but maybe I'll have a little fun first." She's crying now, tears sliding down her cheeks.

"Please," she gasps out. "Don't. I know where Aron is." That gives me pause. I want Summer dead but I want Aron's head on a plate. He betrayed us Careers and played us all, acting submissive and helpless while it suited him. I wanted to see him writhing in his own blood and begging for mercy before he died. The need to destroy Aron wins out.

"Fine," I snarl. "Show me and I'll make your death quick and painless. Double cross me and I'll see how long I can make you scream."

"I understand," she croaks out, trembling, and when I release her she stumbles slightly. Her leg is bandaged and she limps some as she snatches up her backpack before leading the way back toward the Cornucopia. She stumbles and limps along and I had to force myself to remember that with Aron gone and then Summer there would only be the boy from 11 and I. We almost make it to the Cornucopia before night.

"We'll stop here," I say and she nods, sinking down on top of a still warm rock. After a minute of watching my warily she pulled out her water bottle and took a drink. I settled down across from her and pulled out the sweatshirt and jacket along with the sleeping jacket. The blood on my skin was dried and I used one of the water bottles and the spare shirt to clean up some.

_Summer_

I waited until Cato was preoccupied with cleaning the blood off his skin before unwinding the bandages from my ankle. The wound was more swollen and pus was still dripping out. I winced and rinsed it with water before rewrapping it. I was counting on my ankle to be better in order to escape Cato while he was busy with Aron but it wasn't looking promising. As darkness wrapped everything in her chilly embrace I curled up on the ground, shivering. It took a long time of shaking before I drifted off to sleep.

I wake up held against Cato and instantly panic. I launch an elbow back into his stomach and hear the air go out of him as I thrash free. "What is wrong with you?" he snarled, jerking up. It was still dark out so I couldn't see as I backed up, stumbling over a rock to fall on my butt on the ground.

"What's wrong with me?" I squeaked. "What's wrong with _you_?"

"Do you want to freeze?" That made me pause for just long enough for Cato to yank me up. I yelped, eyes going wide as he yanked me close to him. "Because if you do by all means go back to where you were." I shrank back slightly and he released me. I held in a cry of pain as I put weight on my leg, tears suddenly dripping down my face. "_Girls_," I heard him mother scathingly, turning his back on me. I sank down to the ground and stayed awake for the remainder of the night, trying to ignore the throbbing in my leg.

The next sunrise I knew I was feverish but I also knew I couldn't show any kind of weakness to Cato. I had to get out of here. I had to survive. I led Cato toward the cliffs where I had last seen Aron. "There," I said finally, leaning against a rock. "He's up there."

"Prove it," Cato challenged. I sighed and bent wearily, struggling to keep my balance as I picked up a rock. Then I stood and threw it as hard as I could. As soon as it hit the top of the cliff we both heard footsteps and saw the shadow of a person come to the entrance of the cave. "How do I know it isn't the boy from 11?" Cato asked.

"He has both arms," I told him, forcing myself to stay upright.

"Fine," the blond boy said after a moment, grabbing my arm. "Come on." He half led, half dragged me up to the side of the cliff but Aron was waiting. He tackled Cato and I barely scrambled aside with my bad ankle. As the pair tumbled to the ground I took my chance and bolted. I just made it out of the shadow of Aron's cavern hideout before the world begins to blur. I stumble and lean heavily against the rock face near my side. I know I have to get farther away if I want any chance to escape Cato but I can't force myself to move. I sink to the ground and the world begins to spin just before it fades to black.


	9. Chapter Nine

**Chapter Nine**

_Summer_

I wake up and it's the most surprising thing I've ever done in my life. I didn't expect to wake up. I fully expected the infection to kill me if Cato didn't get to me first. Instead I can feel sunshine on my closed eyelids and hear the barest whisper of wind through the wheat around me. I open my eyes slowly and then wince, throwing an arm over my face as sunlight seared my eyes. "Awake finally?" a voice drawls and I actually allow myself to groan. _Cato_.

"You couldn't stab me while I was asleep?" I sneer. I know I am baiting a tiger but I don't care. I am just so tired. I want it to be over with. I want to be dead. Everyone else is. Why can't I be dead?

"I saved your life," he snapped.

"Why?" I growl, sitting up. "You can't kill the boy from 11 by yourself? Are you really that pathetic?" I see the anger blaze up in his eyes. If I wasn't so dead I'd feel satisfied for getting the result I wanted but instead I feel nothing. I don't so much as flinch as his fingers wrap around my throat and begin choking me.

"I can kill anyone by myself including your stupid district partner," he snarls. "He won't get away from me again." Aron got away? For a moment that broke through my apathy. Then it faded away again. It didn't matter if Aron won or died. I would be gone and that was what I wanted. Then Cato released me. "You're going to help me find him again."

"How?" I asked hollowly. "I don't know where he is. I don't care."

"The Cornucopia," he announces proudly, smirking at me. "The feast was just announced. Aron won't come out if he sees me, not after I injured him, but he'll come out if he sees you."

"Fine," I say blankly. Hopefully Aron will kill me before Cato gets to him. If not the boy from 11 or Cato will finish me though. I won't have to live with the things I've done. I sit up slowly and my head spins. Something is shoved towards me, a canteen. A take it and drink just enough water to stop my head from spinning. Then I stand, testing my balance and deciding it's as good as it's going to be. I notice Cato watching me but I can't muster up any feeling besides guilt. "Ready to go?" I don't bother putting emotion into my words and it doesn't seem to bother me. Instead he stands and smirks at me.

"Lead on." I do. We walk and to my pleasant surprise it isn't far before we can see the shiny silver metal of the Cornucopia. "I'll stay here," Cato tells me. "You go out there." I nod dully and do as I'm told like a stupid little sheep while the same words echo again and again in my mind. _I just want to die_.

_Cato_

She's surprisingly quite. After being unconscious from the wound on her leg for two days straight she seems strangely apathetic. Earlier she was baiting me just because she could and now she seems to be on automatic, simply doing what she's told. That's when I see Aron. He comes out of the winter wheat warily, looking around before rushing over to Summer. He says something to her and she shakes her head, eyes glistening with tears. He grabs her shoulders then, shaking her like someone would a rag doll. "_Just do it already_," she shrieks, glaring at him suddenly as tears pour down her cheeks. He turns away from her, his face disgusted, and that's when I strike.

I lunge out of the field, slamming into him. He goes down with a cry of surprise, his shirt already staining with blood from where I sliced him up during our last encounter. At the same time I hear more footsteps and the boy from 11 rushes into view, knocking Summer over. She slams to the ground with a cry and rolls out of his way, going for the knife that flew out of Aron's hand a moment ago. I stab him through the chest just as Summer grabs his knife. Blood spurts across my clothing once again as the boy from 11 drags her backwards.

For the first time since she woke I see some kind of emotion that isn't guilt or raw desperation. It's fury, though I'm not sure whether it's directed at the boy from 11 with his one arm dragging her toward him or towards me, the boy who has killed almost half the competition. The boy from 11 gets the full force of her fury. She flips over and stabs the knife up at him. It slides easily into his stomach before she draws it out, driving it upward under his ribs and into his heart. His eyes are wide and stupidly stunned as he stares at her for a moment. Then he stumbles and falls, loosing his grip on her leg and crumpling on top of her. She lets out a little whimper, her wide eyes finding mine, and squirms free of his body.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," Claudius Templesmith suddenly announces as if it is the best thing in the world. "I give you the winners of the 75th Annual Hunger Games and the 3rd ever Quarter Quell, Cato Messala from District 2 and Summer Hayes from District 4." It takes a moment for that to actual sink in. Then I realize I have done what I was planning on avoiding the whole time, allowing the special rule for the Quarter Quell to take affect. Summer looks no happier than I do when the hovercraft comes to get us. The games our over but satisfaction seems to elude us both.

_Summer_

It's over. The games are over and I'm still alive. I should feel happy. I should be ecstatic that I made it through everything and survived. Instead I feel guilty until they inject me with some kind of tranquilizer so they can work on my ankle. Then I feel nothing at all.


End file.
